Matt2-4

Giving to the poor was commanded by the law and was a usual part of Jewish life. What Jesus is addressing in these verses is the heart attitude when giving. The first way of giving is openly, publicly and seen by others. This way of giving gets the rewards of praise, thanks, admiration and honour by men, but it is also a way of giving that glorifies self, and that is quite contrary to all Jesus' teachings.

The second way of giving is the way Jesus advocated for his disciples: give privately and unseen by others, and God will reward you, so it will not be an act of self but an act seeking to please God.

After emphasising in chapter 5 the need for heart concern more than concern for the outward acts, this is the first of several aspects of life covered by Jesus in this chapter, where he is going on to put to death the outward parading of piety. “Don't show off your piety” might be a summary of this, and that is why he starts out by saying "Don't show off your good deeds". The difference between this and 5:16 is that there he was saying let your natural goodness bring glory to God, whereas here he says, don't display an artificial goodness before others to your own glory.

D. Application?

1. Goodness towards others IS to be a part of the Christian life, but not in

such a way that it glorifies you and not God.

2. Natural goodness turns other people to God and brings glory to him.

Chapter: Matthew 6:1-18

Passage: Matthew 6:5-8

A. Find out :

1. How did the hypocrites pray? v.5

"And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men.

2. Where and how are Jesus' disciples to pray? v.6a

But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen

3. What will then happen? v.6b

Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you

4. How are we not to pray? v.7a

And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans,

5. What do the pagans think? v.7b

they think they will be heard because of their many words

6. What can we rest in? v.8

your Father knows what you need before you ask him.

B. Think :

1. What, again, was Jesus warning against?

2. How do unbelievers pray?

3. In what way is the praying of believers to be different?

C. Comment :

A hypocrite is someone who puts on a show, who pretends one thing but is another, and Jesus warns against this type of praying. Again he is saying, don't display your piety, for real piety doesn't display itself. Some people enjoy appearing spiritual and getting the praise of other people because of it, but Jesus counsels his followers to be very different. The Christian knows that prayer is intimate conversation between himself and his Lord, and the best place for intimate conversation is in private.

Not only that, when you have the confidence and trust of the one you are conversing with there is no need to try to impress them with fine flowing rhetoric. No, when we come to Almighty God, we come to one who is also our loving heavenly Father, and we don't have to try to impress Him and we don't have to badger Him to love us.

No, God knows us through and through, so there's no point trying to pretend with Him. No, God loves us more than we can believe, so we don't have to try to get Him on our side, He already is (see Romans 8:31 ,32), so enjoy the experience of prayer and don't make such a big thing about it!

D. Application?

1. Prayer for the Christian can be as natural as breathing. How sad we have

so often made it something so intense.

2. God is my Father. Wow!

Chapter: Matthew 6:1-18

Passage: Matthew 6:9-15

A. Find out :

1. How are we to address God? v.9

`Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name,

2. What are we want to happen? v.10

your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

3. What are we to ask for first? v.11

Give us today our daily bread.

4. What also are we to ask for? v.12

Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.

5. What further thing are we to ask? v.13

And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.'

6. What condition is laid on forgiveness? v.14,15

14 For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15 But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.

B. Think :

1. What does this outline say about our desires?

2. What does it say about our needs?

3. What does it say about our responsibilities?

C. Comment :

Did Jesus mean this to be a prayer that is constantly repeated? The answer has to be no, for Jesus constantly stressed relationship and not mere repetitious religious ritual.

Relationship is stressed immediately in that we are to see God as our loving Father, as our provider and our protector. It is a unique religion that sees God, not as the awesome, fearsome dominant being of the Universe (although He is!) but sees Him as the wonderful Father!

But His greatness is still to be recognised and we are to revere Him for that and recognise that His will is to be supreme and is the thing we are to desire, His will being done as perfectly on earth as it is being done in heaven.

In this awareness will come a sense of His holiness and our unworthiness and a need to receive forgiveness. It is this that Jesus picks up on after the prayer outline, for he makes receiving forgiveness conditional on giving forgiveness. If we are unable to forgive it is clear that we are not submitting to Him as Lord and Saviour, and we cannot be on the receiving end of forgiveness that can only come when we are utterly reliant on Him as both Lord and Saviour.

D. Application?

1. God is Almighty but He is also my loving heavenly Father who cares for

me, provides for me and protects me.

2. My response must be love and obedience.

Chapter: Matthew 6:1-18

Passage: Matthew 6:16-18

A. Find out :

1. How are you not to fast? v.16a

"When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do

2. What do they do? v.16b

for they disfigure their faces to show men they are fasting.

3. What have they received? v.16c

they have received their reward in full.

4. How are we to approach fasting? v.17

But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face

5. Why are we to do that? v.18a

so that it will not be obvious to men that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen

6. What will be the consequence? v.18b

your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

B. Think :

1. What was the hypocrites' approach to fasting?

2. How is the Christian approach to contrast with that?

3. What, again, is at the heart of Jesus' teaching?

C. Comment :

For a third time Jesus warns his disciples against externalism, like that of the hypocrites, those religious people who displayed a religious exterior but who were wrong inside. Having touched on giving and prayer in this context he now proceeds to fasting.

Note first, that he expects fasting to be a part of his disciples' life and doesn't say it was just a part of the Old Covenant. Fasting is an act of commitment to reliance upon God; it reduces self reliance and makes one aware of one's need of the Lord, while at the same time disciplining the body and mind to wait on the Lord to hear from Him.

Second, note that it is not something that is to be done to impress others, indeed Jesus counsels his followers to actually disguise the fact that they are fasting so that only God himself knows you are doing it! Trying to impress other people has no part in the Christian life style.

Finally note the possible rewards that will come from fasting. If you do it outwardly your reward will be the praise of men; if you do it secretly, it will be the acclamation of God. Which do you want? (For more on the subject of fasting, see the book, "God's Chosen Fast" by Arthur Wallis)

D. Application?

1. The temptation with all religious behaviour is to try to impress men.

2. That achieves nothing. Pleasing God is all-important.

Chapter: Matthew 6:1-18

Passage: Matthew 6:16-18

ADDITIONAL NOTE : Fasting

Introduction

In Matthew 6:16-18 we saw reference to the practice of fasting, the going without food and sometimes without drink, for some spiritual purpose. Because there is such a temptation to legalism or “automated spirituality” (see below) by the practice, we have included this additional note for your consideration.

Godless Fasting?

In Isaiah chapter 58 we see Israel rebuked for a wrong sort of fasting. They were going through the practice and even humbling themselves in sack cloth and ashes (v.5), even apparently seeking the Lord (v.2), appearing very spiritual. Yet they were rebuked for holding onto wrong attitudes and wrong behaviour which made their practice of fasting worthless!

Any apparent “spiritual activity” can in reality be “godless”, if we are not doing it out of our relationship with the Lord. Our motivation for fasting can be quite wrong! If we are trying to win God's favour or “twist God's arm” to get Him to do something, we are in fact trying to manipulate God. If fasting does not come from a response to the prompting of the Spirit of God, then it probably comes from man made desire to manipulate God.

As soon as we utter the words, “we ought to…” we are likely to be moving into legalism. We have said again and again in these studies on this “Sermon” that Jesus is first of all concerned with what goes on inside your heart and only then what comes out in your actions.

Right Fasting?

Yes, there will be times when Jesus will want us to fast, but it is when HE wants us to fast. The Holy Spirit led Jesus to fast (Mt 4:1) and God called Moses to be with Him to fast (Ex 24:12-18). How many Christians fast without any reference to the Lord. The Lord is more concerned with our obedience than he is with our self-imposed sacrifices (1 Sam 15:22 ). Our fasting should come as a response to His leading, not something we do to try to force God's hand. When the Lord calls us to fast it will be to change us, not change Him!

May we not fall into the trap of legalism or the trap of “automatic spirituality”, i.e. “If I do this then God will do that”!

RECAP: - Real Piety - Matthew 6:1-18

SUMMARY :

In these next 4 studies we have seen:

- Jesus teaching that pious behaviour:

    - should be done out of the public gaze

    - should be done to God, not man

    - will thus receive God's reward

- Jesus specifically teaching on:

    - giving to the needy

    - praying

    - fasting

COMMENT :

Jesus confronts head on the type of piety that is done to make the person feel good, by the reward that comes from the praise of man. No, he says, real piety is that which is done in secret before God, and it is only this sort of piety that will please God.

In this teaching, Jesus is indirectly teaching that giving to the poor, prayer and fasting are all activities within the life of his disciples, but it is the way they are done that is important.

LESSONS :

1. Giving to the needy is a part of our lives, but is to be done quietly.

2. Prayer is a part of our lives and is to be to God and not to men.

3. Fasting is a part of our lives but again is to be done privately and not with self-glory.

PRAY :

Ask the Lord to let your private devotional life grow and your public glory diminish.

PART 5 : "Trusting God"

In this next Part Jesus challenges the basis of our security. It is not to be in materialism, or worry-based activity. It is not to be in bolstering our own image at the cost of others', but it is to be in simple reliance upon the Lord who will provide and give when we ask, as the loving heavenly Father that He is, with us His children.